Nathaniel Yankson
12 September 2006
THE EXECUTIVE Director, of the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services (CERSGIS) of the University of Ghana, Dr. E. Amamoo-Otchere, has announced that Ghana will experience yet another eclipse on September 22.
He described it as "annular and partial", would occur mid-Atlantic about 3500 to 4000 kilometres off the West African Coast.
At a press conference held at the laboratory of the Centre at the University of Ghana, Legon, the Centre took media representatives through the scenario that would enfold on the day and how to sentitise the public on how it can be seen.
Touching on the annular eclipse, Dr. Amamoo-Otchere said it could be seen through a solar viewing shade by an observer located directly within the path of 'totality', indicating the 'before and after' stages on both sides is the 'total annular' with which the moon (dark) is surrounded by a thin ring of the sun's light.
He noted that when viewed by a protected camera, the annular eclipse does not produce total obscurity of the sun by the moon, and so the "totality of the annular eclipse is not absolute totality like the total solar total solar eclipse we watched on March 29th".
He said, "Ghana will see the maximum partial eclipse between 10:30am and 11:am. Beyond 11:am, it would decline and taper off, vanishing from view by 12:noon".
He said the whole country would experience this phenomenon and aside Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria among other African countries would also experience the eclipse.
The annular eclipse, he stated, might not attract visitors from outside the country like the March 29th total eclipse did due to the fact that it would only be partial, adding that they would have no opportunity to study the sun's physics and chemistry as well as animal and human reactions to the spell of darkness.
Dr. Amamoo-Otchere therefore cautioned that since Annular eclipses are also dangerous to look at directly with the naked eye, "you must use the same precautions needed for safety-viewing of the total eclipse", warning that a tissue of the retina could be destroyed immediately or after sometime if viewed without the required protective measures.
He called on TV stations to "help in recording with solar-viewing filters for televising the event real time or post event".
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